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stand up straight with your shoulders back - akira the don lyrics

the first chapter i have in my book is called is “stand up straight with your shoulders back”
and it’s an injunction to be combative
not least to further your career let’s say
but also, to adopt a stance of ready engagement with the world
and to reflect that in your posture i kind of have an affinity for lobsters
when a lobster loses a fight, it kind of crunches down so it looks smaller
when he wins the fight, he stretches out, looks bigger
and so, he’s signaling other lobstersthe tally of his victory
so, you think well so what
the lobster runs on serotoninneurochemical
and if the lobster loses the serotonin levels go down and if he wins the serotonin levels go up and when the serotonin levels go up
he stretches outand he’s a confident lobster
and one of the consequences of that is if a lobster loses a battle
and you give them the equivalent of antidepressant then he stretches out and go fight again

stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight with your shoulders back stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight with your shoulders back

so, anti-depressants work on lobsters
and you think well who cares
it’s like no-no-no
you don’t get it
we diverge the lobsters from an evolutionary perspective
350 million years ago
and it’s the same circuit
it’s absolutely unbelievable
and that shows you how deep inside you
how basic out primordial that circuit is in you
that’s sizing other people up
and looking at where they fit in the hierarchy
the idea of the hierarchy is at least 350 million years old
and so, i read that i think
well so much for the idea that
human hierarchies are a socio-cultural construct
it’s like no that’s wrong
it’s not just a little bit wrong it’s unbelievably wrong
it is mindbogglingly wrong
lobsters have hierarchies that’s a third of a billion years ago
okay that’s not a social construction
it’s part of being itself
and if you only see a hierarchy as
power and tyranny
then you’re looking at the world wrong

stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight with your shoulders back
stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight with your shoulders back
stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight with your shoulders back

so, this basically says
i’m open to the world
but what it also says is
i can handle being open to the world
so, it signifies competence and confidence
the deepest christian idea
is that you should accept the vulnerability of being
that’s the acceptance of the crucifixion
you’re at the x
where the suffering takes place
you going to whine about that
and get resentful and bitter about it
or you gonna say bring it on
i can handle it no matter what it is
and the idea is that if you can do that you will transcend the tragedy
and it’s like
well could that be true
well, you admire the courageous
so well, how courageous can you get
that’s the question
how courageous can you get
well, you practice

stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight with your shoulders back
stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight with your shoulders back
stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight
stand-stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight
stand up straight with your shoulders back

if you want to present yourself to the world
in a manner that doesn’t disgrace you in some sense
you don’t want to disgrace yourself
because the consequence of disgrace is emotional disregulation
more pain less positive emotion
and so, the way to present yourself is to stand up forthrightly
and to stretch out
you know, and occupy some sp-ce
if you straighten up
and you present yourself in that manner then other people are more likely to take you seriously
and that means they’ll start treating as if you’re a number one lobster
instead of a number 10 lobster
because one of the general rules of thumb about how to be successful
is to confront things that frighten you forthrightly and with courage
and that’s kind of a universal strategy for success
and so that’s what the first chapter is about

- akira the don lyrics

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